GREAT JUMPSTART FOR WRITERS: ONE-DAY WORKSHOP WITH REGINA MCBRIDE
Novelist Regina McBride, author of The Nature of Water and Air, The Land of Women, and The Marriage Bed, will offer a special one-day workshop in Park Slope on April 21 from 10:30 until 5 p.m.
Register now to reserve a place in this workshop that is designed for writers of all levels. The cost is $125.
NOTE FRM OTBKB: I have studied with Regina McBride
since 1998 and I recommend her classes to all writers wherever you are
in your process. Using relaxation and sense memory, her technique is
wonderful whether you are just beginning to write, embarking on a novel
or memoir, or very experienced and in the midst of a novel or short
story.
For inspiration, character development and incredible writing
exercises, Regina’s course has been vital to my development as a writer
as it always propels me to my best writing. Especially great when your
work needs a little jump start.
If you are interested, please email nightsea21@nyc.rr.com
Inner Lives: Developing Characters
An Intensive Workshop with the Focus on the Fictional Character
With Regina McBride
Using relaxation, sense memory, and emotional memory (Stanislavski
acting techniques transformed for the writer) a variety of exercises
will be offered to enable the student to find a deeper, richer
connection to the character he or she is creating.Exercises will be followed by writing periods, and opportunities for
people to read and share their work. The atmosphere will be safe, with
the focus on exploration. The class is designed to help the student
break into new territory with the character, and with the story itself.
YASSKY CALLS FOR REGULATION OF CELL PHONE RINGS: APRIL FOOLS
You can even download the ringtones that Yassky considers "palatable". "We wanted one of them to be Bobby DeNiro’s monologue from Taxi Driver
— ‘You talkin’ to me?’ — but we couldn’t get the rights," says Yassky. Here’s a little April Fools fun from WEEKEND EDITION.
If there’s one thing you can’t get in New York City, it’s silence.
But some legislators think that New York has heard too much of one sound in particular: cell phone ringtones.
The
city’s Center for Reduction of Noise Pollution issued a public call to
action last month, citing an increased number of confrontations spawned
by a new phenomenon: It’s called "ring rage," and it involves strangers
getting into fights over obnoxious cell phone ringtones.David
Yassky, a member of the New York City Council for the 33rd District in
Brooklyn, has proposed a bill to regulate cell phone rings.Distracting
ringtones in the workplace cost the economy more than $1.2 billion each
year, says Yassky. His bill mandates that New York residents choose
between four more palatable rings, custom-made by the city."We
wanted one of them to be Bobby DeNiro’s monologue from Taxi Driver —
‘You talkin’ to me?’ — but we couldn’t get the rights," says Yassky.Many
New Yorkers have been outraged at the possibility of being told what
rings they can and cannot use, especially since anyone caught using an
unauthorized tone will be subject to heavy fines.Yassky speaks with Liane Hansen about the measure, which he says would be strictly enforced by the police.
SPACE GRANT AND ARTIST RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITIES AT BAX
BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange announces
SPACE GRANT & ARTIST IN RESIDENCE OPPORTUNITIES
Guidelines and applications for BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange?s 2007/2008
Space Grant and Artist in Residency Programs are available April 1st.
For an application visit www.bax.org/opportunities.html or call
718-832-0018. Artists may only apply in ONE category.
SPACE GRANTS
Six Space Grants will be awarded to Dance, Theater, or Performance
artists to be used between July-October 2007 or October ?07-January ?08.
Awards are up to 70 hours of free rehearsal space in any of BAX?s four
studios. This grant is designed to give Brooklyn based artists the
opportunity to create new work in a setting that is conducive to working
deeply and exploring new territory. At the conclusion of the space grant
period, all awardees will perform in a showcase performance in BAX?s
Theater. Applicants must be Brooklyn residents. BAX must receive
applications by 5 PM on Friday, May 18, 2007.
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
2007/2008 Artist in Residence applications will be considered in DANCE
only (THEATER will be considered for 2008/2009). Two awards to dance
artists will be made for the July 07-June 08 period. Chosen artists are
provided with a home base for a one-year period and will receive 200
hours of free rehearsal space, a stipend, opportunities to present works
in progress and finished work with full production and marketing
support. 2007/08 artists will join current theater artists in residence
entering their second year. Applicants must reside in one of the five
boroughs of New York City. BAX must receive applications by 5 PM on Friday,
June 1, 2007.
Forward email
http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1101085766638&ea=louisecrawford%40gmail.com&a=1101596518708
AUTISM’S EDGES: MOMS BLOG ABOUT AUTISM
Brooklyn Reading Works is pleased to present mom-bloggers, Autism’s Edges and Autism Land on April 19th at 8 p.m. at The Old Stone House at Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets.
KRISTINA CHEW, a classics professor and mom writes a blog called AUTISMLAND. "Finding out your child has autism is like the end of a love affair and
the start of a new, lifelong, really beautiful relationship." MOTHERS VOX, the nom-de-net of a mother, teacher, scholar and activist living in New York City, will read from her blog, AUTISM’S EDGES.
THE LAST SUMMER OF ASTROLAND
Coney Island’s Astroland opened its final season on Sunday. This from New York 1:
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz was on hand to celebrate
opening day at the park for the last time. Big Bucks redevelopment is in the stars for Coney Island. Let’s hope some of the spirit and history of Coney Island is respected by the changes that are set to come.
"They’ve contributed so much to family life for Brooklynites and
for all New Yorkers and beyond since the early 1960’s, and we’re going
to miss them,” said Markowitz. “But there’s going to be a new Coney
Island; that’s the promise. A new Coney Island that’s not just from
Memorial Day to Labor Day, but we’re looking for a Coney Island to be
once again known as America’s playground.""It might be good for Brooklyn but I don’t know if it’s good for
Brooklynites,” said Cyclone rider Victor Green. “I mean it’ll bring the
economy up in the area, but I don’t know, Coney Island isn’t going to
be the same.""It’s a landmark,” added Cyclone rider Jonathan Topol. “We don’t need more condos in the city."
The new plans call for the area to be transformed into a year-round
entertainment complex. Longtime fans of the Cyclone need not worry –
the 80-year-old roller-coaster will be part of the new boardwalk.
PAINTINGS, PRINTS, AND T-SHIRTS AT THE BLIP BLOP SHOP
Diaper Diva’s friend, Allyn Howard, has a really neat on-line shop called the Blip Blop Shop, where she sells fun animal paintings, prints and t-shirts for kids. The prints are reasonably priced and terrific for kid’s rooms. Have a look. Isn’t the bunny cute?
PS 321 IN THE NEW YORKER
My mother-in-law in California read this New Yorker Talk-of-the-Town piece before I did (my New Yorker subscription seems to be on the blink).
Anyway, MIL laughed out loud last night when
she read it and called us today to tell us about it (she assumed we
knew about it, of course). Thanks, mom.
The teacher of this PS 321 after-school mini-course is parent and journalist Susan Gregory Thomas, the author of the forthcoming book Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds (out May 2007), which
I have been reading and find to be VERY FASCINATING. Her class for kids
sounds incredible, too. Thomas will be at the Brooklyn Reading Works
Edgy Mother’s Day event on May 24th at the Old Stone House. 8 p.m.
Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Street. Here’s the piece by Rebecca Mead from the New Yorker (the New Yorker has a brand new website)
It
is sometimes suggested that schools no longer teach children values,
but this assertion would not be true of P.S. 321, in Park Slope, which
has been offering an “Ad-Busters” class as an after-school program,
intended to impart radical skepticism to kindergartners. The class is
taught by Susan Gregory Thomas, a P.S. 321 parent and the author of
“Buy, Buy Baby,” a soon-to-be-published exposé of the depredations of
kiddie consumer culture. One recent very cold Friday, Thomas’s charges
were crowded around a lunch table in the cafeteria in advance of a
field trip to Key Food.
“Who goes shopping with their parents?” Thomas, who has brown curly
hair and was wearing a pastel-colored jacket trimmed with fake fur,
asked.Walter, whose lips bore faint traces of blue that might have been
caused by food coloring (unlikely) or marker pen (probable), said, “I
sometimes go to Met Foods, or D’Agostino’s.”Ishai, who was eating a bag of Pirate’s Booty, said, “I go to the
Food Co-op.” Thomas asked if Pirate’s Booty was healthy. “It’s snacky,”
Ishai said.“How do we know when something is healthy?” Thomas asked.
“From reading the nutrients list,” Ishai said.
“I can’t read,” Walter said, pulling on a fleece hat.
The children headed down Seventh Avenue holding hands in boy-girl
pairs: their choice. The group passed Back to the Land Natural Foods
and the D’Vine Taste fancy-food emporium.“There’s the wine market!” a boy named James said.
“I want to take off my coat, I want to take off my hat, I want to
take off my shoes, I want to take off my pants, I want to take off my
underwear!” Walter was saying as he entered the supermarket. Once
inside, he yelled, “I want candy!”The children milled around a bin filled with bananas, blocking the
efforts of a middle-aged man to navigate his shopping cart beyond
Fruit. “I know what this is,” Walter said, momentarily dispirited.
“It’s the grownup aisle.”As the group rounded the corner into Canned Goods, a quiet boy named
Charlie reached for a pack of soy chips. “We’re not buying those,
Charlie,” Charlie’s dad, a parental monitor, said. “You had those for
snack.” Thomas halted in front of an array of Campbell’s soups,
pointing out that the packaging on many of the cans featured cartoon
characters. “Leave the cans of soup on the shelf,” Charlie’s dad
warned, as Charlie picked up two cans—bearing Chicken & Stars and
Goldfish labels—and knocked over a display of pickle jars.“Does anyone know what saturated fats are?” Thomas asked. “If you
ate three of these cans in a day, you would be over the fat limit for a
child of your age. You would have to say, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t have the
cupcakes and the cookies.’ ”A boy named Sam looked dubious. “I don’t even like soup,” he said.
Further along the aisle were packages of mix for macaroni and
cheese. “Would you choose this one, or the one without characters?”
asked Thomas, holding a box featuring Shrek.“I’d choose the plain one,” Maeve, who had blond hair and was just getting over a cold, said. “Shrek is bad for you.”
“Why is all the macaroni and cheese orange?” Thomas asked.
“Food coloring!” Ishai said, dropping dramatically to the tiled floor and picking himself up.
“Who is it aimed at?” Thomas asked.
“Kids!” Ishai answered, dropping to the floor again.
In the cereal aisle, James, who was wearing a white Power Rangers
cap, grabbed a box of Fruity Pebbles. “That’s ‘The Flintstones,’ ” he
said. “That’s a very old show.”Thomas picked up a box of Health Valley granola and asked, “What does ‘organic’ mean?”
“It means it’s organized,” a boy named Henry said. An older
gentleman who was carrying a tub of Quaker Oats paused to listen. “You
wonder why people are dying of heart attacks every day,” he said. “The
corporations are running America and poisoning Americans, and the
people don’t realize it. The politicians are paid off to let them kill
people.”Thomas ushered the children past Paper Products and back outside,
where a truck decorated with a Canada Dry logo and covered with wintry
ice was making a delivery.“Icicles!” Walter shouted.
“Icicles aren’t packaged!” Ishai said.
“You can’t eat icicles,” a wary Maeve warned. None of the children expressed a desire for ginger ale. ♦
WASTING ENERGY IS A BAD IDEA
An OTBKB reader writes:
Hello: I live on President, between 7th and 8th; across the street from
me are two brownstones the owners of which leave several outdoor lights
on 24 hours a day. After observing this for weeks and weeks, and
pondering whether I should send letters reminding them of the wasted
energy and money and general waste, I finally yesterday approached one
owner while she was standing outside her home. I introduced myself, and
politely asked if she was aware that the lights were always on. She
replied thusly: Yes, we know, we tried a timer but it doesn’t work, and
with nannies and other people in and out all the time, and since I
don’t want to come home late at night to darkness, we just leave them
on.I thanked here for her time and came back home. That was on a
sunny, bright afternoon. The lights remained on that day, and are
burning brightly as I type. I give up, but am amazed that people are so
wasteful.Any tips out there about getting people to understand that wasting energy is a bad idea?
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
SCULPTOR OF CONEY ISLAND AQUARIUM WALL RELIEF DIES
This from the New York Times.
"Toshio Sasaki, a Japanese sculptor known for works in public spaces, particularly “The First Symphony of the Sea,” a 322-foot-long wall relief at the New York Aquarium at Coney Island, died on March 10 near his home in Nagakute in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan. He was 60 and also had a home in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The cause was stomach cancer, his wife, Miyo, said.
Mr. Sasaki, whose work has been described as more surrealist than abstract, was one of eight finalists in the design competition for the World Trade Center memorial.
He completed the well-known wall on the Coney Island boardwalk in 1993. Constructed from four tons of concrete, the wall evokes the living creatures inside the building with embedded multihued mosaic fish heads and terrazzo starfish.
In 2003, Mr. Sasaki’s ground zero submission, “Inversion of Light,” included a representation of the north tower’s footprint with light shining from below and a reflecting pool above a circle of light as a representation of the south tower’s footprint. Other elements included water trickling over a glass wall etched with victims’ names and a column honoring unidentified remains.
AMERICAN CROSSWORD PUZZLE TOURNAMENT MOVING TO BROOKLYN
The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is moving to the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott. Yeah, that’s the tournament that was immortalized in the documentary film, Wordplay.
Directed by the New York Times Crossword Puzzle Editor, Will Shortz, this is the nation’s oldest and largest crossword competition. Solvers
tackle eight original crosswords created and edited specially for this
event. Scoring is based on accuracy and speed. Prizes are awarded in
more than 20 categories, including a $5,000 grand prize. Evening games,
guest speakers, and a wine and cheese reception allow solvers to meet
each other in a relaxed and entertaining atmosphere.
Next year’s tournament is February 29-March 2, 2008. For more information, go to crosswordtournament.com
DISRUPTIONS TO THE A & C LINE
It could be a tough few weekends for A and C riders, as track work
that began Saturday is causing major service disruptions on both lines.
Crews will be installing new rails and roadbeds in downtown Brooklyn.
Service will be suspended in both directions between Jay
Street-Borough Hall and Utica Avenue. Free shuttle bus service will be
provided between both stations.
There will be no C service anywhere, and all A trains in Manhattan and Brooklyn will run local.
There will also be more service on the L line.
Transit officials say they are better prepared than they were a few
weeks ago, when number 7 train riders were left confused and angry by a
lack of information about service changes on that line.
"There’s a lot of lessons learned that have been employed here,”
said James Leonard of NYC Transit. “A lot of changes that we made,
enhancements we made to signage, our work with customer service,
customer outreach, and you are going to see the fruits of that labor
this weekend."
A and C commuters say their changes have been tough to sort out.
"Once I got to Utica Avenue I heard that it was going to happen,
but by the time I got onto the Rockaway Avenue I figured it’d be a
rumor,” said one passenger. “Until I got to Utica, and then you started
hearing all the warnings and what to do. After I learned what to do it
was pretty cool.”
Well there’s been a lot of interruptions lately, but that’s what
they’ve got to do to get things fixed,” said another A and C rider.
“That’s what they have to do on the weekends so people just have to
deal with it."Normal A and C service will return next weekend for Easter.
But the disruptions return for four more weekends after that, through Monday, May 7th.
For more information go to www.mta.info.
CELEBRATE BROOKLYN PARTIAL LINE-UP
I got a sneek peek at the Celebrate Brooklyn line-up in the mail. No dates just names. And they don’t mention that The Neville Brothers will open on THURSDAY JUNE 14th and Ani DiFranco will perform on WEDNESDAY JULY 18th.
Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Dance, The Jazz Passengers, Ralph Stanley and the Cinch Mountain Boys, James Reams and the Barnstomrers, Brooklyn Bollywood with DJ Rekha, Dan Zanes and Friends, REwind: a Cantata, Yiddish Fest, Bobby Blue Bland, Catherine Russell, Brave New World Repertory Theater performing Whitman’s "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry", The Hold Steady, Kassav, The Teeage Prayers, Laurel and Hardy / Millennial Territory Orchestra, Hitchcock’s Blackmail / Alloy Orchestra
www.celebratebrooklyn.org
THE SECOND CHILD POEMS BY DEBORAH GARRISON
Reviewed in today’s book review, The Second Book, poet Deborah Garrison’s new book is about mother hood.
A Working Girl Can’t Win, Garrison’s acclaimed first book of poems chronicled the life of a working girl. Now Garrison, who is the poetry editor at Alfred A. Knopf, moves into another stage of life as she starts a family.
In The Second Child,
Garrison explores every facet of motherhood (“Sharp bliss in proximity to the roundness, /
The globe already set aspin, particular / Of a whole new life”).
BLURB: Sometimes sensual, sometimes succinct, always candid, The Second Child
is a meditation on the extraordinariness resident in the
everyday–nursing babies, missing the past, knowing when to lead a child
and knowing when to let go. With a voice sound and wise, Garrison
examines a life fully lived.
About the Author
Deborah Garrison is the author of A Working Girl Can’t Win: and Other Poems. For fifteen years, she worked on the editorial staff of The New Yorker
and is now the poetry editor af Alfred A. Knopf and a senior editor at
Pantheon Books. She lives with her husband and three children in
Montclair, New Jersey.
THE STOOP SERIES THIS THURSDAY
NEXT EVENT: Thursday, April 5 at 7 pm at the Rotunda Gallery.
Located at: 647 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Featuring guest filmmakers Ramin Bahrani, Julia Loktev and Chris Zalla.
Soundtrack by DJ Elliot of The Simple Mission.
Free. Limited Seating.
April’s Stoop features moderator Logan Hill in conversation with
award-winning filmmakers Ramin Bahrani, Julia Loktev and Chris Zalla.
Bahrani’s debut film Man Push Cart,
a standout at Sundance, tracks a Pakistani street-cart vendor with a
mysterious past. Loktev, winner of the Cannes Director’s Forthnight
Youth Prize, ponders what might happen if a young female suicide bomber
were to emerge from the Times Square subway stop in Day Night Day Night. Chris Zalla, who both wrote and directed Padre Nuestro,
is leading a new wave of immigrant cinema and was recently awarded the
grand jury prize for the best American drama at Sundance.
CREATIVELY SPEAKING AT BAM: APRIL 1
In the tradition of the series that began at Aaron Davis Hall in Harlem eleven years ago, this first presentation of Creatively Speaking
is a forum to present works that convey a realistic, universal
portrayal of people of color to Brooklyn audiences and beyond. The
series includes classic features, works-in-progress, and probing
documentaries. Curated by Michelle Materre. All programs followed by Q&As with filmmakers.
|
Women on the Verge 82min Sun, Apr 1 at 2pm* *Q&A with the filmmakers › Buy Tickets Features the films: Tree Shade (1998), 29min Directed by Lisa Collins A gifted high school student journeys through time to witness the prison convictions of three generations of women in her family, from the 1920s, 1950s, and 1980s. Miss Ruby’s House (1994), 18min One People (2006), 35min |
|
Haitian Women Speak 74min Sun, Apr 1 at 4:30pm › Buy Tickets Features the films: Stop Crying In Silence (2001), 57min Directed by Rachele Magloire In 1999, a collective of women victims of rape during a military coup in Haiti produced a play that exposed the pain and atrocities they suffered. This documentary is a record of that production. The Violence (Work-In-Progress), 8min Directed by Michele Stephenson This film follows the lives of three survivors of domestic violence from within the Haitian community in Brooklyn. The Wash (1999), 9min Directed by Eve Sandler An autobiographical video narrative, this painterly work examines the artist’s own body and memory for scars of childhood sexual abuse. |
|
History, Memory, and Recreating Home 98min Sun, Apr 1 at 6:50pm* *Q&A with the filmmakers › Buy Tickets Features the films: Ancestors Walk with Us (2006), 22min Directed by Dana Nzingha Thomlinson Using photography and archival footage, Thomlinson re-creates a visual memory of the black experience that invites the audience to re-examine the community’s history and ancestry. Homecoming (1998), 56min Oscar’s Comeback: Festival of the Unconquered (2007) 20min |
Music is My Life, Politics My Mistress: The Story of Oscar Brown, Jr.
(2005) 60min
Sun, Apr 1 at 9:30pm*
*Q&A with the filmmakers
› Buy Tickets
Directed by donnie l. betts
In
the beginning there was Oscar Brown Jr.—the high priest of hip. Brown’s
accomplishments as a composer, writer, playwright, and activist
challenged the government and influenced generations. betts focuses on
Brown’s overlooked legacy with an array of historical footage,
performances, and commentary by noted icons such as Al Jarreau, Amiri
Baraka, Al Freeman Jr., Abbey Lincoln, Nichelle Nichols, and Studs
Terkel
ALTERNATE SIDE OF THE STREET PARKING SUSPENDED…
Alternate side parking regulations will be suspended on Tuesday through
Friday, April 3-6, and Monday and Tuesday, April 9-10 for holiday
observance. All other regulations, including parking meters, remain in
effect.
The 2007 Alternate Side Parking Regulations Suspension Calendar is
available
on the DOT Web site, along with other alternate side parking
information, at
www.nyc.gov/dot/a
HELP THIS WOMAN LOOK LESS FRUMPY
I love this post I saw on Park Slope Parents today. It’s so honest and real. I don’t feel like a frump but sometimes I want to revamp my look and do something different. Eye shadow. Mascara. New shoes.
Any suggestions for this woman who posted: "How Did I Get To Be Such a Frump?" So far she’s heard about MYR and Lulei for make-up and personal shoppers at Bergdorf’s, Bloomies, Lord and Taylor, and Macy’s…
I just turned 50, and am in desperate need of a makeover. I've been a
stay-at-home mom, can I blame it on that? My makeup and hairstyle is
from 10 years ago, and my wardrobe consists of 8 pairs of black
elastic-waist pants, and different colors of the same Lands End shirt. I wish
I was joking.
I could use some help to look more polished and pulled-together. Where
can I go to get makeup advice geared towards a middle-aged woman? I
don't want to go to a trendy young place.
And hair color and style advice, from someone who understands graying
hair and middle-aged (but still hip) styles?And clothes, on a not very svelt body?
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
ONE DAY WRITING WORKSHOP: GREAT JUMP START FOR WRITERS
Novelist Regina McBride, author of The Nature of Water and Air, The Land of Women, and The Marriage Bed, will offer a special one-day workshop in Park Slope on April 21 from 10:30 until 5 p.m.
Register now to reserve a place in this workshop that is designed for writers of all levels. The cost is $125.
NOTE FRM OTBKB: I have studied with Regina McBride
since 1998 and I recommend her classes to all writers wherever you are
in your process. Using relaxation and sense memory, her technique is
wonderful whether you are just beginning to write, embarking on a novel
or memoir, or very experienced and in the midst of a novel or short
story.
For inspiration, character development and incredible writing
exercises, Regina’s course has been vital to my development as a writer
as it always propels me to my best writing. Especially great when your
work needs a little jump start.
If you are interested, please email nightsea21@nyc.rr.com
Inner Lives: Developing Characters
An Intensive Workshop with the Focus on the Fictional Character
With Regina McBride
Using relaxation, sense memory, and emotional memory (Stanislavski
acting techniques transformed for the writer) a variety of exercises
will be offered to enable the student to find a deeper, richer
connection to the character he or she is creating.Exercises will be followed by writing periods, and opportunities for
people to read and share their work. The atmosphere will be safe, with
the focus on exploration. The class is designed to help the student
break into new territory with the character, and with the story itself.
NO CONDOS IN CONEY DEMO
This from New York 1, but Gowanus Lounge has the story and the PICTURES. What a protest! And here’s the slide show from GL.
Costumes and color lined the steps of City Hall Friday in protest of redevelopment plans for Coney Island.
Protesters marched in a "No Condos in Coney" demonstration, to
fight part of real estate developer Thor Equities’ $2 billion plan to
rezone the area for residential use — which they say will take away
from the park’s character."What we do not want to have happen is to have condominium
development for the well-to-do to have a great white-sound,
south-facing beach as their own playground,” said Richard Egan, the
co-host of the annual Mermaid Parade on Coney Island.“It’s an amusement district, it’s for the community, it’s for
people to come to and visit,” said Miss Cyclone 2007 Angie Pontani.
“It’s not a place for luxury condominiums. It really speaks against its
history and I think the real promise of its future."Thor Equities says the majority of the land they purchased will be
used for an indoor water park and other related entertainment uses
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
READ PLENTY: A PROFILE OF FOOD COOP VEGGIE GUY
From Plenty via Gowanus Lounge.
Everybody knows that fruits and vegetables come
from the soil, technically—but, more pragmatically, they come from the
grocery store. Yet most people know more about how a seed turns into a
tomato than how that tomato appears in the produce aisle at 77 cents
per pound.Behind the plump pomelos and
mouth-watering watermelons, inspecting the lettuce leaves and carrot
tops, is the unsung hero of the journey from field to plate: the
produce buyer. At the Park Slope Food Cooperative in Brooklyn, the
produce buyer is Allen Zimmerman.The
bright-eyed and pebble-voiced Zimmerman, a lifelong Brooklynite and
former union organizer, brings a down-home New York City practicality
to providing for Park Slope’s sophisticated palates.“One
of my responsibilities on this job is to eat. I have to taste things.
How could you sell a fruit without knowing how it tasted?” he says.
“The way I learned this job was hands-on. You touch the produce, you
smell it, you eat it.”
PODCAST OF “REPORTING FROM IRAQ” READING
On Wednesday night we made a very good recording of the panel
discussion, which can be downloaded at
www.readingsonthefourthfloor.blogspot.com
The download is free, and entirely worth listening to.
If you can link your readers to the site, I would really appreciate
it. We had a full house, but I think more can benefit from listening
to what was said.
Thanks again for all your support.
David
DANIEL MEETER: GOD TO RATNER: DON’T BUILD SO BIG
This week’s Brooklyn Paper is chock full of articles about religion in the borough of kings. I especailly enjoyed Gersh Kuntzman’s piece, GOD TO RATNER: DON’T BUILD SO BIG, highlighting Pastor Daniel Meeter’s thoughts on the Atlantic Yards. Check it out
CHERRY BLOSSOM FEST: APRIL 28th and 29th
As always, About Brooklyn’s Wendy Zarganis has the Brooklyn scoop. Here she is on the Botanic Garden’s Cherry Blossom festival. Read more at ABOUT BROOKLYN.
The striking sakura (cherry blossom) is soon to make its appearance in Brooklyn, welcoming a beloved springtime tradition.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s 26th annual cherry blossom festival,
Sakura Matsuri, will celebrated April 28th and 29th. The Brooklyn
Botanic Garden boasts over 200 cherry trees 42 different varieties,
more than anywhere outside of Japan, and that grace the Garden grounds
and enchant guests. The beauty of the delicate sakura make the Cherry
Blossom Festival one of New York’s most anticipated spring events.
INNER LIVES: DEVELOPING CHARACTERS IN PARK SLOPE FOR THE FIRST TIME
Novelist Regina McBride, author of The Nature of Water and Air, The Land of Women, and The Marriage Bed, will offer a special one-day workshop in Park Slope on April 21 from 10:30 until 5 p.m.
Register now to reserve a place in this workshop that is designed for writers of all levels. The cost is $125.
NOTE FRM OTBKB: I have studied with Regina McBride since 1998 and I recommend her classes to all writers wherever you are in your process. Using relaxation and sense memory, her technique is wonderful whether you are just beginning to write, embarking on a novel or memoir, or very experienced and in the midst of a novel or short story.
For inspiration, character development and incredible writing exercises, Regina’s course has been vital to my development as a writer as it always propels me to my best writing. Especially great when your work needs a little jump start.
If you are interested, please email nightsea21@nyc.rr.com
Inner Lives: Developing Characters
An Intensive Workshop with the Focus on the Fictional Character
With Regina McBride
Using relaxation, sense memory, and emotional memory (Stanislavski
acting techniques transformed for the writer) a variety of exercises
will be offered to enable the student to find a deeper, richer
connection to the character he or she is creating.Exercises will be followed by writing periods, and opportunities for
people to read and share their work. The atmosphere will be safe, with
the focus on exploration. The class is designed to help the student
break into new territory with the character, and with the story itself.
DISRUPTIONS TO A AND C SUBWAY LINES IN BROOKLYN THIS WEEKEND
Big weekend disruptions are coming to the A and C lines in Brooklyn.
According to the MTA, for the next five weekends, A service between
Jay Street-Borough Hall and Utica Avenue will be replaced by free
shuttle bus service.There will be no C service at all: A trains will be running local.
The MTA says there will be extra L train service on the weekend to help pick up the slack.
The disruptions don’t include Easter weekend, when normal weekend service is scheduled.
For more information, go to www.mta.info.
DEPT. OF CITY PLANNING TO STUDY SUNSET PARK HEIGHT LILMIT
Sunset Park residents have gotten some good news from the city in their quest to re-zone the neighborhood.The Department of City Planning has agreed to study 125 blocks in the area to bring the height limits on buildings down.
Residents say developers are trying to build structures that are out of context with the neighborhood.
As NY1 first reported last month, residents formed a coalition called SPAN for the Sunset Park
Alliance of Neighbors to keep all new development in character with the area’s low-rise buildings.The city says it’ll put the study on the fast track and should have its findings by year’s end.